Cover Image: Poseidon's Academy

Poseidon's Academy

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Member Reviews

This book has a tough job to do. Any teen fantasy book set in a magical boarding school can’t escape the shadow of Hogwarts (especially when it opens up with an acceptance letter), while mentioning any kind of Greek god lands us in Percy Jackson territory, so to tackle both is pretty brave. Sadly, for me, it didn’t pay off. For one major reason: world-building. Or, rather, the complete lack of it.

Both Harry Potter and Percy Jackson inhabit a secret world hidden within the one we all know so well. In Hailey’s world everyone has magic. The Greek gods were killed some sixteen hundred years ago, and a little of their power went into every human being on the planet. And yet the world has developed exactly the same as ours, right down to English-speaking, white Australians and mean-girl white Americans, as if British colonialism happened exactly the same.

I could probably write several essays about why this doesn’t ring true (if everyone has magical powers, what kind of weaponry – if any – would have developed? Would we have needed the same kind of tech we have today? Would industry have developed the same? Would Europe still have developed so much faster than everyone else, without the social and economic pressures of our mundane world?). All of which is a bit too deep for a middle grade adventure tale, but I still find it relevant. If you’re changing the whole world, change the whole world! Don’t be lazy.

And, if we’re talking about world history, why did the defeat of the Greek gods happen at the same time as the collapse of the Roman empire? Where are those gods? Where are the rest of the world religions? Where are their gods? Where’s the rest of the world’s population? Did I imagine it, or are all the pupils Hailey interacts with white? Why are the five main characters all English in an international school? Why are the only other nationalities mentioned Australian and American? Why are they speaking English when they’re all part-Greek god?

And why on Earth is Hailey accepted into a school in which her powers will be useless? If Zeuses are so rare and special, surely they’d be taken away and trained by some overriding power, just in case they grow up to save the world one day. It’s not like she’s hiding who and what she is. And why is there only one Zeus anyway? You’d think that as the most powerful god his magic would have spread the furthest. Then again I have no idea how the powers thing works, since it clearly isn’t hereditary as no one seems to have the same magic as their parents.

Basically this book left me with a lot more questions than answers. Which might have been okay if Hailey hadn’t been so boring, her best-friend hadn’t been so annoying and her three male friends hadn’t been so interchangeable. They all also act a lot older than thirteen. If it wasn’t for the (refreshing) lack of romance, I’d have said they were sixteen at least. I put it down so many times in the beginning and didn’t feel much like picking it back up again, but the plot and action do get better as it goes along. But for someone so powerful and potentially important, Hailey isn’t the most compelling of heroines.

So, sadly, this one wasn’t for me. It’s an easy enough read with magic and Greek mythology, but the characters aren’t very interesting and the lack of development in them and the world leaves it all a little flat and flimsy. Young readers might enjoy it, but if they come here looking for a female Percy Jackson (thanks to the Poseidon title) they will be disappointed.

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I received a free copy of POSEIDON’S ACADEMY by Sarah A. Vogler in exchange for an honest review. Hailey Woods lives in a society where humans defeated the Olympian gods and inherited their powers. Hailey has the weather powers originally owned by Zeus. It’s a really rare power type and comes with a “save the world” prophecy. That’s a lot of pressure for a thirteen-year-old, so Hailey applies to Poseidon’s Academy where she can live underwater where there is no weather and where, as a result, she can avoid the intense pressure her prior school placed on her. For someone who is trying to avoid saving humanity, Hailey gets into a lot of trouble by running to rescue her friends. This is account of all the adventures Hailey has during her first year. Expect more books.

This was a fun book. Hailey has some less-than-admirable character traits, but she’s infected by powers previously wielded by Greek gods, who all also had some pretty big flaws. If you’re a fan of mythology and boarding school books, you might want to give this series a try.

#PoseidonsAcademy #NetGalley

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Thank you to Xpresso Book Tours for the arc of this book.
I am a few years older than the intended age range for this book, but it was an ok read, I can see the age group it is aimed at enjoying it a lot more than my old self.
I did enjoy the concept of how the author used the old gods and their powers, was very original.

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